Lieberman In Fifth

Vows To Press Ahead

MANCHESTER, N.H. — While the results were coming in to Sen. Joe Lieberman's primary party Tuesday night, a song by Tom Petty was pumped through the crowd.

With its lyrics, ``Won't be turned around. And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down,'' it was not exactly a victory song.

Then again, the fifth-place finish for the the 61-year-old Connecticut senator was not exactly a victory. Moreover, it spoke to how far he has traveled in his quest for the White House. He began this presidential bid as the most recent vice presidential Democratic nominee and the candidate in this race with the best name recognition.

On Tuesday, he stood before a smallish but devoted crowd, and gave a singular interpretation of the results. ``We are in a three-way split decision for third place,'' he began his 10-minute speech, punching the air for emphasis.

Actually, two of his opponents, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina and former Gen. Wesley Clark were virtually tied for third, each with about 12 percent of the New Hampshire Democratic primary vote. Lieberman attracted about 9 percent.

His showing had some people close to him questioning whether Lieberman would be the next candidate winnowed by the primary process. Some following his campaign for the next week were on alert Tuesday night for news that his charter plane would not leave to continue his campaign.

When Lieberman walked to the podium at 9:50 p.m., about an hour later than expected, he immediately addressed those fears. ``The battle goes on,'' he said, ``with the confidence that I know I'm the president America needs now.''

Surrounded by his wife, Hadassah, and his family in a downtown Manchester ballroom, he said, ``Today the people of New Hampshire put me in the ring and that's where we're going to stay.''

From New Hampshire, Lieberman planned to fly to Oklahoma early today. He will concentrate his next campaign efforts there and in Arizona, Delaware and South Carolina.

Lieberman is already broadcasting television advertisements in each of those sates. He plans to campaign in Delaware, Oklahoma and South Carolina by Thursday.

As for the other states voting Feb. 3 -- Missouri, New Mexico and North Dakota -- Cabrera said on Tuesday: ``We'll see what the lay of the land is tomorrow.''

The question for the campaign, however, isn't so much the lay of the land as it is the financial landscape.

The campaign spent liberally in New Hampshire. It went from spending about $1 million a month in advertising in December to $1 million a week in January.

It was a significant expense given that the campaign raised about $3.6 million in the third quarter -- as opposed to former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's $14.8 million in the same period.

Still, Cabrera said the campaign was conservative with funds by waiting until late in 2003 to begin paying for pricey television advertisements. The campaign also received federal matching funds and chose not to compete in Iowa, which saved millions.

The decision to forgo Iowa, however, made Tuesday's New Hampshire results critical. That point was underscored when Lieberman moved his family, including his 89-year-old mother, Marcia, to a basement apartment in Manchester in December.

``It will be very hard for him to move forward,'' said Rich Killion, director of Franklin Pierce College's Fitzwater Center for Communication.

Killion said that the top three finishers are the most viable candidates from here forth. If Lieberman has a shot, he said, ``he's got to pick one state and go all or nothing'' in the seven-state contest on Feb. 3.

Independent voters interviewed at various stops throughout the state in recent days often praised Lieberman, but called him their second choice.

More liberal Democratic voters, on the other hand, often disagreed with his hawkish views on the Iraq war and his relatively conservative social views. Exit polling suggested that about 60 percent of the voters in the Democratic primary disapproved of the war.

Disappointing for Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, the polls also showed that Kerry and Clark received more of the Jewish vote than he did.

On Tuesday night, Lieberman told his supporters that Kerry and Dean probably won because they were next-door neighbors to New Hampshire. It was a characterization that his campaign aides repeated.

``There were so many well-known names. You had Dean and Kerry right next door,'' said senior adviser Ray Buckley.

But when asked if the results had, in fact, exceeded expectations, Buckley said, ``I don't know.''

But there was still a spark of optimism among those seeing the results.

Matt Sheaff, a 19-year-old campaign aide who joined the Lieberman campaign after his first choice, Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt, dropped out, acknowledged that two subdued ``victory'' parties in a row were ``a little disappointing.'' But then again, fate could change for his new favorite candidate, he said. ``It looks like we're first in Delaware.''